Vietnamese consumers eat breakfast more often during the pandemic
Younger generations in Viet Nam started eating more fruit and vegetables, drinking more water or trying to have a nutritionally balanced meal at breakfast.
A survey from Herbalife Nutrition Company has shown that Vietnamese people have taken advantage of the extra time afforded to them during the pandemic to prepare healthy and nutritious breakfasts. A desire to improve health and well-being was the main reason consumers in Viet Nam have changed their breakfast habits.
“About 43 per cent consumers in Viet Nam began eating breakfast more often as a result of the current situation and 78 per cent of the respondents in Viet Nam who started doing so said they ate breakfast seven days per week,” read Herbalife Nutrition’s third annual Asia Pacific Breakfast Habits Survey 2021.
The survey founded that 43 per cent of consumers in Viet Nam started eating breakfast more often as a result of the pandemic, both to improve their health and to make a positive lifestyle change off the back of having more time in the morning to prepare breakfast.
In addition to increased breakfast frequency, younger generations in Viet Nam started eating more fruit and vegetables, drinking more water or trying to have a nutritionally balanced meal at breakfast.
The survey also found a remarkable increase in recognising nutrition as an important element of the ideal breakfast among Vietnamese consumers. When asked about factors that make up an ideal breakfast, respondents selected nutrition as the most important factor (59 per cent), followed by taste (15 per cent), convenience (15 per cent) and quick and easy preparation (8 per cent).
In the Asia Pacific Breakfast Habits Survey conducted in 2019 by Herbalife Nutrition, nutrition was a lower priority to consumers then, ranked after taste and convenience.
When asked about the personal benefits of consuming breakfast, the respondents cited an energy lift in the morning (90 per cent), kickstarting their metabolism for the day (71 per cent) and helping them to focus better at work or in school (70 per cent) as the key advantages. In addition, the majority of Vietnamese consumers (88 per cent) also saw value in consuming a high-protein breakfast.
Inconvenience is the main barrier to healthier breakfasts. While around 92 per cent of respondents recognise that it is important to have a healthy breakfast on a daily basis and intend to do so, a minority continue to face barriers in making healthy breakfasts a key part of their daily routine.
When asked about how much they would be willing to spend on their ideal breakfast, the majority were unwilling to spend more than the equivalent of US$5 per meal.
The survey polled more than 5,500 consumers aged 18 and above across 11 markets – Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet Nam. Approximately 50 per cent of respondents in each market were Generation Zs (aged 18 – 24) or Millennials (aged 25 – 40). — VNS
